We began the season with high expectations, having won the FA Cup and gained 79 points in the league last season. On top of this we made some excellent signings, including Alexis, who could provide the cutting edge and directness that we lacked, so it felt like we had the foundations on which to build a genuine title challenge.
And yet, only a few months on, having had our worst start to a season many years, it was becoming harder and harder to defend Wenger's decision not to strengthen the squad in defence and defensive midfield. We began the season with only 6 defenders in the squad: Debuchy, Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal and Gibbs. Suddenly, our expectations had shifted from potentially challenging for the League, to having to really raise our game to retain hope of finishing fourth again.
For me, it is the times when I'm forced to lower my expectations that are most frustrating as an Arsenal fan. We now seem to be experiencing the opposite effect, having beaten Man City, as this encourages us to raise our expectations again, as we have finally shown ourselves capable of beating the bigger teams. It is these times, when we are surprised, and it becomes apparent that we might just achieve beyond our expectations, which are most enjoyable as a fan. We all thrive on the hope that is provided in these situations.
Before we get too carried away, I wanted to just briefly review some of our games from November and December, as these have been some of the most turbulent times I can remember in terms of my own shifting expectations, hope and frustration:
Tuesday 4th November: Arsenal 3 - 3 Anderlecht
Arsenal line-up (4-1-4-1): Szczesny; Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs; Arteta; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Cazorla, Alexis; Welbeck
Comments: Otherwise known as Anderlecht's revenge, this game demonstrated the best and worst of Arsenal. For the first 60 minutes, this was our best performance of the season so far. And then, for the last 30 minutes, Anderlecht did to us what we did to them in the previous game. Our complacency cost us this game. It felt like the end of the World, but the reality was that we required 1 more point from our remaining two games to guarantee qualification to the knockout stages of the Champion's League.
Sunday 9th November: Swansea City 2 - 1 Arsenal
Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs; Ramsey, Flamini; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis, Cazorla; Welbeck
Comments: A Koscielny-shaped hole in our defence is becoming more and more prominent. We also missed Debuchy, as Chambers really struggled against Montero.
Saturday 22nd November: Arsenal 1 - 2 Man Utd
Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs; Ramsey, Arteta; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere, Alexis; Welbeck
Comments: We seem to be finding new ways to lose games! Man Utd were there for the taking but we threw it away. We found ourselves 1-0 down without them having a shot on target! A very frustrating game, as the squad of players seem to have more different skills and options than it has in years, yet they're not quite clicking, and lack the confidence to take advantage of games like this. We miss Koscielny massively, as last year we looked able to hang on for 1-0 wins when necessary, whereas this season we look very fragile at the back. It looks like we're aiming for fourth place again. Great to have Giroud back.
Wednesday 26th November: Arsenal 2 - 0 Borussia Dortmund
Arsenal line-up (4-5-1): Martinez; Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Arteta, Cazorla, Alexis; Sanogo
Comments: We completely dominated this game, against World-class opposition. There is no better way to respond to our recent results than to put in a great performance like this. Expectations are raised again! Qualification secured.
Saturday 29th November: West Brom 0 - 1 Arsenal
Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Flamini; Alexis, Cazorla, Welbeck; Giroud
Comments: A good win away from home. The clean sheet is important.
Wednesday 3rd December: Arsenal 1 - 0 Southampton
Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Flamini; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Alexis; Welbeck
Comments: Another good win, another clean sheet. This time against a good Southampton side. Having Koscielny back is really important.
Saturday 6th December: Stoke City 3 - 2 Arsenal
Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Bellerin, Chambers, Mertesacker, Gibbs; Flamini, Ramsey; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Alexis; Giroud
Comments: Having had a few good results, this now brings us back to reality. Aiming for fourth place again, it seems! With Koscielny out again, and Debuchy still missing, it is becoming harder and harder to justify Wenger's decision not to sign another defender. Mertesacker struggled as the left-sided centre back. This was a game that typifies many Arsenal losses; once we concede an early goal, we are forced to attack more which, in turn, leaves our defence even more exposed.
Tuesday 9th December: Galatasaray 1 - 4 Arsenal
Arsenal line-up (4-3-3): Szczesny; Debuchy, Mertesacker, Chambers, Bellerin; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Flamini, Ramsey; Campbell, Sanogo, Podolski
Comments: A great win against a poor Gala side. Turkey isn't always the easiest place to travel to, but we'd already secured qualification, so the pressure was off. Podolski and Ramsey were the stars in this game with two goals each. Great to have Debuchy back, and the front three demonstrated the depth of the squad in the forward positions. I suspect, however, that these players wouldn't have played if we hadn't already qualified.
Saturday 13th December: Arsenal 4 - 1 Newcastle
Arsenal line-up (4-1-4-1): Szczesny; Bellerin, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Gibbs; Flamini; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Alexis, Welbeck; Giroud
Comments: Another solid win.
Sunday 21st December: Liverpool 2 - 2 Arsenal
Arsenal line-up (4-3-3): Szczesny; Debuchy, Chambers, Mertesacker, Gibbs; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Flamini, Cazorla; Alexis, Giroud, Welbeck
Comments: We were outplayed, but this was a professional performance. It was frustrating to concede a second goal so late in the game but, on the positive side, a point away to Liverpool is not a bad point. After all, Liverpool were a good side last season, and this is a better result for us than it is for them.
Friday 26th December: Arsenal 2 - 1 QPR
Arsenal line-up (4-3-3): Szczesny; Debuchy, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs; Rosicky, Flamini, Cazorla; Alexis, Giroud, Welbeck
Comments: Good to return to winning ways.
Sunday 28th December: West Ham 1 - 2 Arsenal
Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Flamini; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Welbeck; Alexis
Comments: An interesting decision to recall Coquelin and now he gets a start alongside Flamini in a very defensive looking midfield. This was necessary in a hard-fought win.
Thursday 1st January: Southampton 2 - 0 Arsenal
Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Chambers, Coquelin; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Rosicky; Alexis
Comments: Argh! Just as things start looking up we lose again! Coquelin starts again, but this time alongside Chambers in central midfield.
Sunday 4th January: Arsenal 2 - 0 Hull City (FA Cup)
Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Bellerin, Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal; Rosicky, Coquelin; Walcott, Cazorla, Campbell; Alexis
Comments: A good, solid, win.
Sunday 11th January: Arsenal 3 - 0 Stoke City
Arsenal line-up (4-1-4-1): Ospina; Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rosicky, Cazorla, Alexis; Giroud
Comments: Well, we took a beating in this game. Debuchy got a well-timed nudge to send him into the advertising boards and dislocate his shoulder. Monreal got smashed in the face and blood was everywhere. All within the rules though, and great to see us put the Orcs back in their box. Stupid Orcs. A pre-Alexis Arsenal may have struggled in this game. His strength and determination to keep getting up and going at them again, despite being targeted and taken out so many times, allowed us to keep playing our game without having to lower ourselves and play their game. Coquelin was also a good player to have on the pitch to return some of the physicality back to Stoke, but he needs to be careful that he remains disciplined about this.
I find it interesting to reflect on our strengths and weaknesses from last season, and compare those to where we are now. Last season we had a strong defence and, at the start of the season in particular, we looked able to hold onto a lead and keep clean sheets. Ramsey was outstanding last season, scoring many goals from midfield, and we were very consistent in picking up points at teams lower down the league. Our weaknesses were playing the big teams, where we completely fell apart several times. This was compounded by injuries to Özil, Walcott and Ramsey, as our opponents discovered that they could use a high defensive line and compress the midfield, and we had no-one who could offer the pace and directness required to capitalise on the high defensive line.
Interestingly, we have now addressed many of these weaknesses. We looked solid against Chelsea, beat Borussia Dortmund, drew away with Liverpool and thoroughly outplayed Man Utd. We certainly haven't looked like getting smashed again against any of the big teams. On top of this, Alexis has added the work rate, desire and directness that means that teams can no longer play a high defensive line against us without being punished. Welbeck's pace has helped with this too; in fact, all of our signings have been great - Alexis, Welbeck, Debuchy, Chambers and Ospina. So why is it that, despite improving on our weaknesses, we've made a terrible start to this season?
Well, our defence has looked ropey at best, and Ramsey has been injured and lost the confidence to score regularly. While Alexis has been great, we've struggled to find a system that can accommodate both him and Özil and allow them both to play their best. So, actually, it seems that all of our strengths from last season have disappeared. Which is both a positive and a negative because, while it is incredibly frustrating, it shows that we do have the ingredients required to succeed - we just need to find a system that accommodates our strengths from both last season and this. It is only now that we're beginning to see this potential emerge, and long may it continue! We face a big test this weekend against a Spurs side rapidly gaining confidence.
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